Statue of Pangeran Diponegoro, Central Jakarta

The Statue of Prince Diponegoro is located at Jl. Diponegoro, Menteng, Central Jakarta, in the middle of a park on a median street facing Suropati Park, replacing the statue of a mother who had previously been in this place. The statue that was once known as the Kartini Statue is now placed in Taman Medan Merdeka.

This bronze statue depicts the figure of Prince Diponegoro with a spear in his hand while riding a horse with two front legs are lifted up. The Statue of Prince Diponegoro, a grant from Ciputra, was inaugurated by the Governor of DKI Jakarta Sutiyoso on December 6, 2005.

The garden where the statue is located has an area of about 3000 m2, more elongated rather than widened, following the path it divides. While the fountain under the statue reaches approximately 110 m2. The process of sculpting from design to completion takes almost a year. A bit long.

The statue of Prince Diponegoro is viewed from the bus stop on the south side of Taman Saropati, which leads to the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) at the back of Sunda Kelapa Great Mosque. Betawi model ornaments appear at the top of the photo mounted on the roof of the bus stop.

Although we are supposedly still the descendants of the prince, and I've been to Tomb of Prince Diponegoro in Makassar, but there's hardly any vibration as the descendant of that figure. Probably it's because the disctnace too far away. Our great-grandfather, KH RM Muhammad Ilyas is the son of RM Ali Dipawangsa. While mbah Dipawangsa is the son of Diponegoro II, or grandson of Prince Diponegoro.

A closer look at the statue of Prince Diponegoro when the fountain is rising rather high. The fountain is not only a refreshing for one who is looking at it, but also a refresher for plants and a paradise for free birds to quench their thirst as this park is rarely passed by man, except the gardener.

Prince Diponegoro is the eldest son of Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwana III, the third king of the Yogyakarta Palace. He was born in Yogyakarta on November 11, 1785 under the name of Mustahar from mother's womb R.A. Mangkarawati of Pacitan. The Prince whose child's name was Bendara Raden Mas Antawirya preferred to live in Tegalrejo with his great grandmother, namely Gusti Kangjeng Ratu Tegalrejo, empress of Sultan Hamengkubuwana I.

A closer look at the figure of Prince Diponegoro statue in that Menteng area of Jakarta shows the beauty of the artwork. The depiction of the human figure is very detailed and vivid, with his fluttering cloak, his scuffed headbands behind his back, and the position of his body and hands when playing the spear. The horse's neck is made long and twisted.

The figure of Prince Diponegoro's statue is depicted with his distinctive turban and cloak, and there is a keris tucked in the front waist. For the Javanese, when in peaceful state the keris is usually tucked at the back waist or back. Only in a state of war the weapon will be moved to the front.

When taking photos of the statue from this location all of sudden I was approached by a security guard of the official residence of an ambassador of a foreign country. He asked me to show mi ID, which I rejected, as I was in public area, and had nothing to do with the ambassador, nor didn't take photos of his home.

It is understandable how important it is to keep an ambassador safe, especially if he represents a powerful country, and that sometimes makes people too excessive and paranoid. Nevertheless the incident did not prevent me from crossing the road to get another viewpoint towards the statue.

Because there's traffic lights at both ends of the park where the statue is located (known as Bappenas park because it is nearby that office), it is really easy to cross the street to see it up close. Maybe next time I should take a look at this statue up close, and see if there is inscription written on the bottom of the statue.